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Lake Hopatcong Foundation teaches students ice safety

Photo by Greg Watry/New Jersey Herald - First assistant chief Steve Kucevic and firefighter Mark D’Ambrosi, of the Northwood Engine Company No. 2, demonstrate an ice rescue procedure for the students of Durban Avenue Elementary School in Hopatcong.

HOPATCONG — If you fall through the ice don’t swim for the light. Swim for the black circle. It seems counterintuitive but it may save your life because the black circle is where you broke through.

Safety tips, like the aforementioned, and procedures were gone over Friday morning at the Durban Avenue Elementary School in Hopatcong, where the Lake Hopatcong Foundation gave an ice safety presentation to the fourth- and fifth-grade students of the school.

Leading the presentation was Rick Scherr, a retired teacher from the Durban Avenue and a Lake Hopatcong Foundation volunteer.

“Is all ice safe?” Scherr asked the students, who answered with a resounding “no.”

“There’s always danger whenever you go out on the ice,” he continued, so it’s important to take the proper safety precautions.

Check the thickness of the ice with your parents, he said.

General guidelines for ice thickness are as follows: if the ice is 2 inches thick then it is considered unsafe. At 4 to 6 inches it is likely to be safe for small groups. Six inches plus can hold a group of skaters. And 8 inches plus can hold snowmobiles and ATVs. But all ice is different, and it is important to pay attention to the weather patterns, moving water and changing conditions.

If the ice sounds like Rice Krispies, Scherr said, it’s not safe.

Mark the areas that are safe, use the buddy system and never go out alone or without telling an adult, he continued.

“We want to make sure you have the tools to understand” how to be safe on the ice, he said to the children.

According to Scherr, one should bring ice picks, a whistle, a cell phone and wear a life jacket under one’s winter coat when going out on the ice.

During the presentation, a clip featuring Les Stroud, a survival expert and filmmaker best known for his Discovery Channel show “Survivorman,” was shown. In the clip, Stroud falls through the ice and takes the viewer through the steps one should take during this dangerous situation.

In an effort to bring a dose of reality to the presentation, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation with the help of Hopatcong’s Northwood Engine Company No. 2 did an ice rescue demonstration.

First assistant chief Steve Kucevic and firefighter Mark D’Ambrosi were dressed in ice rescue suits, yellow colored suits with built-in boots and gloves meant to handle extreme temperatures. One student pretended to be stuck in freezing waters. Kucevic and D’Ambrosi tugged an ice raft along and poked the tile floor with a wooden pick, imitating the actions they would take in a real life emergency situation. They hoisted the student onto the inflatable raft, and pulled him to safety.

Donna Macalle-Holly, the coordinator of the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, said this is the first program that the newly formed volunteer and education team has done.

The main goal of this initiative, Scherr said in an interview after the presentation, is to have the children become good stewards of the lake.

“We’re in our infancy,” he added. But “we want to teach all the different things,” such as ice safety, summer safety, water quality and pollution.

The foundation is searching for grant money to fund some of these programs.

Lewis Benfatti, the principal of the elementary school, said, “We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity we had with the foundation. We’ve had overwhelming support from our superintendent all the way through our teaching staff.”

The goal is to “educate the kids for a potentially life (threatening) event,” he said. “We also incorporate it within writing prompts for our kids in class.”

In a pamphlet given to the students after the presentation, the proper procedures to follow if you or another individual falls through the ice were listed.

If you fall through the ice:

1. Remain calm and breathe slowly.

2. Turn back toward the ice you were standing on.

3. With a swimming kick, try to push yourself forward on to the ice.

4. Once out of the water get to a safe, dry and warm place; remove wet clothing; wrap yourself in a blanket; and call for medical help.

If someone else falls through the ice:

1. Do not reach out with your hand to help.

2. Call 9-1-1 or get help.

3. While waiting for help to arrive, you can extend a pole, ladder or rope to the person, or guide them out with the above steps.